Galaxy snap six-game losing streak

Soccer Betting Lines

09/09/2007 - Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alan Gordon, Edson Buddle and Kyle Martino scored in the second half as Los Angeles rolled to a 3-1 win over Colorado on Saturday to snap its six-game losing streak.

The Galaxy won for the first time since David Beckham - who is sidelined with a knee injury - made his Major League Soccer debut on Aug. 9. L.A. was winless in eight overall, tying two games before the start of the losing streak.

Without Beckham or Landon Donovan, who is playing with the United States in its friendly against Brazil on Sunday, Los Angeles looked as good as it has all season.

After a scoreless first half, Los Angeles (4-11-5) scored just seconds into the second half and continued to pull away. Colorado (7-10-7) had its four- game unbeaten streak end and dropped out of the eighth and final playoff spot.

Colorado is now one point behind Chicago, which beat Columbus 1-0 on Saturday to move into eighth in the playoff standings. Colorado and Columbus have 28 points apiece.

Los Angeles is still last in the Western Conference, but is now just one point behind Real Salt Lake.

The Galaxy got the spark they've needed since their last win on July 4 early in the second half when Gordon scored his second goal of the season.

Just seconds into the second half, Los Angeles' Peter Vagenas played a long ball over Colorado's defense to a streaking Gordon. The ball took a bounce by Colorado goalie Bouna Coundoul and Gordon just tapped it into an open net.

Coundoul was injured on the play when he tried to dive to make a play on the ball and was removed minutes later for Zach Thornton. Coundoul was the only Rapids player who had played in every minute of every game this season.

Buddle took advantage of the rusty Thornton minutes later when he finished a breakaway with a little chip shot. Vagenas and Cobi Jones set up the goal and Buddle finished in the 63rd minute by chipping the ball over Thornton as he charged off his line to try and cut down the angle.

Martino put the game away in the 70th minute with a lunging header off a cross from Chris Klein. Jones also picked up an assist on Martino's second goal of the season.

Mehdi Ballouchy scored his first goal of the season in the 89th minute for Colorado, but it was too little, too late.

Wwwoasiscasino Soccer Betting News

<< Sabathia's gem lift Tribe over Angels
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - C.C. Sabathia had another spectacular outing as the Cleveland Indians beat the LA Angels of Anaheim, 6-1, in the third test of a four-game set at Angel Stadium. Sabathia (17-7) tossed his fourth complete game

<< James Madison rallies to beat New Hampshire
Harrisonburg, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - James Madison football coach Mickey Matthews is a firm believer that over four quarters of football the better team will find a way to win. And Saturday afternoon in a showdown between two of

<< Hawaii holds off Louisiana Tech with OT victory
Ruston, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Gerard Lewis knocked down the potential game- winning two-point conversion pass in the end zone, as 20th-ranked Hawaii downed Louisiana Tech, 45-44, in overtime. Hawaii's Heisman Trophy candidate Co

<< Jaqua hat trick leads Dynamo over RSL
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nate Jaqua scored his second career hat trick Saturday night to lead the Houston Dynamo to a 4-3 victory over Real Salt Lake in a Major League Soccer fixture. Jaqua got three big assists from Corey Ashe, who

<< Blalock boosts Rangers over A's
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hank Blalock went 3-for-4 with a home run and three RBI to lead the Texas Rangers to their fourth straight win, 7-3 over Oakland. A.J. Murray (1-1) recorded the win, his first in the majors, in relie

Bulls, Goats to stampede at The Home Depot Center >>
Carson, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - CD Chivas USA will be looking to extend its home unbeaten streak when another Eastern Conference power - Red Bull New York - visits The Home Depot Center Sunday in a Major League Soccer fixture. The Goats ca

LSU runs past Virginia Tech >>
Baton Rouge, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Keiland Williams had a pair of touchdowns as second-ranked LSU destroyed ninth-ranked Virginia Tech, 48-7, at Tiger Stadium. Williams finished with 126 yards on just seven carries while Jacob He

No. 5 Badgers survive scare to top UNLV >>
Las Vegas, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Senior quarterback Tyler Donovan's spectacular 29-yard touchdown run with 1:53 remaining in regulation helped the fifth-ranked Wisconsin Badgers survive a scare against UNLV, 20-13, at Sam Boyd St

Quentin helps Arizona down St. Louis >>
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pinch-hitter Carlos Quentin singled home the eventual game-winning run to cap a five-run fourth inning, and the Arizona Diamondbacks edged the St. Louis Cardinals, 9-8, in the second of three straigh

South Florida upsets 17-ranked Auburn in OT >>
Auburn, AL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matt Grothe's 14-yard touchdown pass to Jessie Hester Jr. in overtime boosted South Florida to a 26-23 upset of 17th-ranked Auburn. Wes Byrum kicked a 39-yard field goal on a low trajectory on Aubur

Sportsbooks to bet on football

Recently I had an email debate with an angry reader who said I did not understand "the science of oddsmaking", as he called it.

He said I was wrong for suggesting oddsmakers care about who wins or loses games.

"Oddsmakers only care about splitting the betting public 50/50 on both sides of the line and keeping the commission (a.k.a. juice)," he wrote.

He might have been right about not understanding "the science of oddsmaking". After all, I'm not an oddsmaker. That said, I stick to my assertion that oddsmakers (a.k.a. sportbooks) often do care about who wins games.

Granted, as a general rule, sportsbooks try to balance their action so that they're not exposed to big losses. However, there are times when this is difficult to pull off, regardless of how much a line has moved. There are also times when that general rule is ignored and a book pursues risk.

Generally speaking, it's safe to say the books in Vegas are risk-adverse. Unlike in the past when the wise guys ruled the town, Vegas is now corporate and the goal of most casinos is to make as much money as possible with as little risk as possible.

Thus, Vegas sportsbooks try everything in their power to balance the action. They're satisfied simply collecting the juice. But these profits are small, especially compared to the take from other casino games, namely slot machines.

Because the profits at Vegas sportsbooks are so small, you could argue that many casinos operate sportsbooks simply as a novelty to keep the tourists happy.

With a growing aversion to risk, it should come as no surprise that Vegas bookmakers have been panicking this NFL season.

Despite huge pointspreads, a disproportionate percentage of bettors are still laying their money on favorites like the Eagles, Colts, Pats and Vikings rather than the dogs (a common trend for the largely recreational bettors that visit Vegas).

And much to the dismay of the books, those favorites are finding ways to cover the thick chalk. In fact, prior to Week 7, the four teams listed above are a combined 16-2-2 (88 percent) against the spread. (The tables turned dramatically in Week 7, but more on that later.)

The result has been an early-season beating for the books, and a bonanza for bettors.

While Vegas increasingly hates risk, it's no longer a major player in the sports betting world. Most of the betting action now takes place offshore where sportsbooks are not as obsessed about balance. In fact, some books encourage exposure to risk because the rewards can be so much bigger.

Consider MySportsbook.com. On its website, the book has odds pages which actually display the amount of action it's getting on games. In other words, you can see how much action the book is taking on both sides of a pointspread, moneyline or over/under.

One look at these numbers and it's obvious MySportsbook.com does not balance every game. In fact, far from it.

Take last weekend's matchup between St. Louis and Miami. By game time on Sunday, 83 percent of the betting action at MySportsbook.com was on the Rams; only 17 percent was on Miami.

What's interesting is that MySportsbook.com opened the pointspread with Miami at +6 1/2. By game time, the spread had lowered to +5.

That goes contrary to the balancing theory. If MySportsbook.com had wanted to balance the action, it would have given Miami more points; instead, it took away 1 1/2. World Series odds are now up as well.

MySportsbook.com exposed itself to even more to risk, and rolled the dice on the underdog Dolphins. Why? I contacted a representative with the book to find out. His answer was simple.

"The line moved early based on 'smart money' from sharp players," said Jeff Gilroy, a spokesperson for the book. "We also knew from early in the week that we would need Miami, therefore (we dropped) the spread to encourage Rams money.

"At the end of the day, we liked the home team."

So the conclusion is this: MySportsbook.com respected the sharp action, and gambled that the sharp bettors had a better take on the game than the recreational bettors, who were hammering the visiting Rams.

In the end, the gamble paid off. Miami, desperate for a win in front of its home fans, pounded the overrated Rams, who are terrible on the road and even worse on grass. Final score: 31-14 Fish.

MySportsbook.com was also heavily exposed on numerous favorites in Week 7, including Philadelphia, Seattle and Denver. All three failed to cover.

The fact that sportsbooks are exposed to risk on certain games is really nothing new. The fact, that Sportsbook.com is willing to show the public where it's exposed is intriguing.

Armed with this type of information, bettors can make more educated wagers. They can get an idea where the sharp money is going and conversely where the public money is headed.

MySportsbook.com is opening up its cashbox, letting bettors look inside and challenging them to take their best shot at grabbing the cash.

To visit this online football betting got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting odds needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.